Geeks in Love?
by Nena et al
Summary: Vistoire, a Seychellois student at Gakuen Hetalia, makes a bet she regrets-she must make her friend Eduard fall in love with her within a month! Gakuen AU


_**A/N:**__ This was written as a Christmas present for The Corrupted Quiet One. Sadly, because I've been travelling over the holidays, I couldn't get this in on time. In that case, it's a late Christmas/early New Years gift. _

_I've never tried writing Seychelles or Estonia before, so feel free to critique about how to make them more in character. I'd really appreciate it. (It's probably just me who thinks Sey would be a little geeky.)_

_Because Sey and Belgium have no canon name and some people don't know the human names, here: _

_Vistoire Maxent – Seychelles (unofficial)_

_Bella – Belgium (unofficial)_

_Elizabeta Héderváry - Hungary_

_Eduard von Bock – Estonia_

_Francis Bonnefoy – France_

_Kiku Honda – Japan (briefly mentioned in the fic)_

_Arthur Kirkland – UK (briefly mentioned)_

_With apologies for my overuse of horizontal rulers._

* * *

_Oh god. God, what have I gotten into? _Okay, rewind—Vistoire needed to think about things in context at the moment. Minutes later, she'd agreed to a bet—oh, why had she thought that was a good idea? Right, her friend had offered her three thousand rupees if she won. Hadn't she thought about if she had lost, though? Surely giving Arthur a cooking lesson was a cruel and unusual punishment; it certainly wasn't something you'd make the loser of a bet do. Yet, Vistoire Maxent was sure she would have to do it eventually—after all, she couldn't win a bet like this.

Bella had explained the rules of the bet to her. The time limit was two months. The next person to walk through the classroom door would be the target. The objective was to make the target fall in love with the girls making the bet within the time limit. The Belgian had conveniently 'forgotten' to mention that she and Elizabeta would also be competing for the target's affections. That was far from why the Seychellois girl was panicking so, however. No, it was because she had forgotten one important thing—there was always a slight chance the target might be a someone she was close to, and, just her luck . . . it was.

"I can't do this," she hissed at her friend. "Eduard is my friend; I can't break his heart like this."

"V, everyone in this class and half of people in the sophomore class are your friends," the blonde sighed. "You should've thought of this earlier. I told you, there's no backing out."

"But . . . Eduard is too sweet for this, Bella," she whined. "_Please_."

"No. We agreed on the rules."

The conversation could have gone on much longer had circumstances differed. As it was, however, Eduard was only visiting the classroom to remind the teacher to put up flyers of next month's festival. He was, after all, a sophomore, and the break room was a place for the freshmen of the classes. With a grimace of regret, Vistoire glanced between the Belgian and the Estonian and slowly made her way to the front of the room, forcing a bright smile upon her face in the meantime. She doubted that she looked sincerely happy, but at least she looked happy in a fake, plastic sort of way, right?

"Hey, Eduard," she greeted embarrassedly as she raised a hand in greeting. "You wanna go to the movies with me after school?"

"Vis?" the boy greeted questioningly. It had been a while since they had done much together; between exams and clubs, neither had much time to spend with the other lately. It didn't help that she looked like she was trying to grin and bear talking to him. "Sorry, there's Chess Club later. Some other time?"

"Well, um . . . I could wait," Vistoire suggested. "When does Chess Club end?"

"You'd do that?" Eduard beamed. "That would be so—w-well, anyway, it ends at a quarter after four. You'll really wait?"

"Sure, if you don't mind. It's in Room 205, right?" Of course, she was already certain of where it was. Weeks earlier, in the beginning of the school year, she had seen him going certain places on certain days of the week—Chess Club in Room 205 on Mondays and Fridays, Art Club on Thursdays, Jazz Band on Wednesdays ("They needed a piano player after Roderich quit," she recalled him saying), and—wait, did knowing all this make her a stalker? It was normal for friends to know that, right? She assumed so, but decided to think about that some other time.

"Yeah," the other confirmed with a nod. "Free time is almost over, so I'd better be going. I still need to talk to the other freshmen's teachers about next month's festival. Vis, Bella, you two had better get back to your classes too."

"Will do, Eddie!" Bella giggled from behind the Seychellois. _What the—how long has she been standing there?_ Vistoire wondered, almost worried if she had heard all of the conversation.

"Y-yeah, I will," she stuttered, embarrassed not only because she had never realised anyone was listening to the conversation. "See you later."

"Smoooooth," the blonde whispered in her friend's ear as the boy walked away. "You know, they play chess to keep warm in Russia. Maybe it's romantic foreplay to him, you'd better watch out."

"Ugh, Bella, stop being such a pervert! Of course it isn't—he's Estonian, not Russian."

"Close enough!"

"Like how Swiss chocolate is close enough to Belgian chocolate?"

" Ha ha, very funny. Don't make me slap you."

"You're right. Swiss chocolate is better."

"I will freaking kill you _in your sleep._"

"I love you too."

* * *

Admittedly, Chess Club didn't go so well. Seeing as how she didn't actually know how to play chess very well, the female student was left to watch Eduard's matches. The first of said matches lasted an entire hour, though it seemed like much longer to those not involved in the strategic game. In the end, it ended in Eduard's favour, as most expected—him left with two queens and a king, and his opponent with only his king before the checkmate. The observer was ready to leave when a second opponent challenged him. There were only fifteen minutes of class, how could he possibly finish in time?

It turns out that the answer to that rhetorical question was 'pretty dang easily'. Eduard took out the opponent, unfamiliar with his strategy, within a matter of turns. A pawn here, a pawn there, a bishop here, a queen there, and it was over. Onlookers were mostly divided over whether to compliment the sophomore or feel sorry for the other for not knowing such a basic strategy. Vistoire went with both, though she did feel like a kiss-up for complimenting her friend so much—not that she didn't intend to act like a kiss-up from the start.

Was it just her, or did the geeky student seem sort of . . . scared? No, that couldn't be it. He didn't seem like his normal self, though, that was for sure. His smile was _wrong_ somehow. Nervous, perhaps? Was he annoyed by the compliments? His discomfort only worsened her doubts about how the date would go. The entire time spent walking to the theatre was full of awkward forced conversation and the Seychellois girl gripping the other's hand nervously, not considering for a moment that it might be the reason for the uncomfortable atmosphere—which, of course, it obviously was. She would never be aware that it was uncomfortable; it was a nervous habit of hers to hold hands.

"So, Vis, um . . ." Eduard started awkwardly when the duo arrived at their destination, "any idea what movie you want to watch?"

"Anything's fine with me," was the reply. Secretly, she wanted to see the sci-fi/romance film, but she had her doubts that the other would want to see it with her. Being sci-fi, of course he wanted to see it as well; he was completely sure that his friend would hate it.

"It's up to you." The two shared a long moment of silence. "This won't get us anywhere, will it?"

"Not at all. We could . . . see what the staff recommends?"

Eventually, the two ended seeing up watching an action film that neither of them liked. Like the typical movie date gone wrong, they later would lie through their teeth and claim that they thought it was good, but bemoaned the terrible effects that ruined it all. It wasn't even the effects that ruined it. Perhaps _Cowboys Versus Aliens_ wasn't such a great plot after all . . . though, really, it had never sounded like a good plot in the first place to the almost-couple.

* * *

It seemed to Vistoire that things were only more awkward between them after that. She tried to talk to Eduard at school whenever she could to no avail. Elizabeta and Bella were always fighting over who got to play with him that day, to the boy's confusion and the girl's chagrin. Her only choice was to come early in the morning and stay after school to go to his club with him, but even then he didn't seem normal. Of course, the teachers of the clubs did not approve of her visitation. Only one voiced his complaint—the head of the Chess Club.

"I want to join, but I don't know much about how to play," Vistoire complained that day during the club.

"If you don't mind, I could, maybe, you know . . ." Eduard started more than a bit sheepishly, ". . . teach you? O-or you could get the club royalty to teach you, they're better than me."

"No, no!" she objected loudly. Lowering her voice, she continued, "Teach me, please. If anyone else teaches me, they'll think I'm an idiot for not already knowing things."

"Great. How much do you know about chess?"

"Um . . . I know how all the pieces move. That's a start?"

"Have you ever heard of _en passant_?"

" . . . No?"

"We have a loooong way to go." Vistoire grimaced, but Eduard only grinned. "More fun for me, then."

"Teaching clueless freshmen how to play chess is fun for you?"

"Well, you aren't like other freshmen," he chuckled. Wait . . . that was _not _what he meant to say. "I-I mean, you aren't clueless!" That seemed wrong, too. "I mean—oh look at the time! I'd better start my explanation! S-so, _en passant_ . . ."

Vistoire, in the meantime, could not read the atmosphere at all.

* * *

"So, I saw you playing chess with Eddie yesterday."

"Oh, drop it, Bella," Vistoire whined. "It's not foreplay, geez."

"It totally _is_!" the blonde giggled. "At least, it better be. There's two weeks until the deadline."

"Shouldn't you be trying to seduce him, then? Don't you want to win the bet?"

"Eh, I don't really like guys like him. He's a little too passive, and geeks are a total turnoff."

"He's a geek?" Bella stared as if she had just been asked if people died when they are killed.

"_Duh_! Oh my god, V, he's in the chess club, he's into sci-fi, he speaks Volcanese—"

"You mean Vulcan?"

" . . . He's _infected_ you, I swear."

"But a lot of people know the meaning of qaparHa! Well, not that any Vulcan would say that in public, but—"

"Okay, okay. Whatever. You know, maybe you two geeks would make a nice couple. You could have a bunch of geeky little spawn and name them in binary." Had Eduard heard this, he would find the thought ridiculous—who would name their child ? They wouldn't understand the spelling until they were at _least_ eight years old, and either way, it would still be pronounced _Kris._ How absurd. Actually, it sounded rather entertaining . . .

* * *

Well, that conversation was the end. Vistoire swore to herself she'd give up on the bet—really, she hadn't gotten anywhere with Eduard in the two weeks she'd been spending with him, had she? Holding hands, clinging to his arm . . . none of it worked. She'd tried to be subtle. She'd tried to be a flirt. _Nothing_ was working. And after being told that she'd make geeky babies with her friend was what pushed her over the edge. She'd give up on the bet. Finally, she could act _normal_ around him; she wouldn't have to be so nervous, so flirty.

"Eduard!" she cheered after school that day, feeling very much like a great weight had been lifted from her. "My DVD for _Tetris: Le Film_ came in the mail yesterday. You know, the one I showed you the commercial for? It has English subtitles. You want to come over to my place off-campus and watch it?"

"Did Jonathan Coulton sing Still Alive better than GLaDOS?" the boy replied with a smirk.

"From the videos you've shown me, I'm assuming that means yes."

"No, that's not quite right. It means _hell yes._"

* * *

"Oh my god, yes. That . . . that was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," Eduard praised after the film was over. "The lead actress was amazing. I'd say it was almost as good as _Serenity_,and that's saying something.

"It's the best movie I've ever seen, I know that," laughed Vistoire, tossing a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "I haven't seen that _Firefly _movie, though."

"You're missing out, Vis. _Serenity_ is my favourite movie ever. _Shaun of the Dead_ and even _Dark City _don't rank as high as it on my list."

"I haven't seen any of those, you know."

" . . . _What._ Do you know how I felt to hear that about my favourite movies?"

"Um, no?"

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."

"_Sure _you did, Obi-Wan," the girl sighed with a smile. "Come on, it's getting late. You should go home."

"_No_. I must fix this. Netflix will right this great wrong."

"We have school tomorrow, you know."

"It's Halloween tomorrow. A bunch of people will skip anyway. _We are watching these movies._"

The two of them couldn't sleep that night. As it turned out, Vistoire couldn't handle horror movies, even ones like _Shaun of the Dead_. And, as Eduard discovered, he really didn't mind when she held his hand at times like that.

* * *

"Good morning, Starshine. The Earth says hello."

"Hnnngh . . . Five more minutes . . ." the Seychellois moaned. "It's too early."

"It's past two P.M.," stated the boy. "You've been sleeping for over nine hours."

"I don't caaaare, I— what smells so good?"

"I made pancakes!" the boy beamed. "I borrowed your kitchen."

"'Kay . . ." she climbed off the couch—had both of them fallen asleep there last night? She couldn't remember. Making her way into the kitchen area of her apartment room, she paused. "Oh my god. Is that—?"

"Yep."

"They're beautiful."

"It's a pain in the ass to shape pancakes into Serenity, you know."

"_Firefly_ pancakes. Best. Breakfast. Ever."

"Clearly you have never seen my Leonard Nimoy pancakes."

" . . . Marry me?"

"Maybe once you can get me into checkmate. I look for that in a girl. It's sexy."

Vistoire realised something that day. _Chess foreplay. Dear lord, it's real._

* * *

Hours later, after the students had spent some alone time in their respective homes, the two met at the park in costume. It was Halloween, after all. The academy was hosting its annual haunted house, and the two had agreed to go together. When they saw each other's costumes, the two couldn't help but laugh.

"Ishizu, I presume?" the elder chuckled. "Nice costume."

"Nice wig, Tristan," the girl praised, giggling. "Or should I say Hiroto Honda?"

"Tristan's fine. You're a _Yu-Gi-Oh _fan, too?"

"Kiku showed me a few episodes and I decided to keep watching."

"I'll have to thank him later . . . Vis?"

"What?"

"If Ishizu and Tristan got together for some reason and just hung out like friends, do you think they could find something in common, or at least something they like in each other?"

"Yeah, probably."

"And then they might even become a couple, but it would still be a crack pairing because it's not expected for them to get together. They don't seem like people who would normally fall in love with each other, right?"

"Of course not, but TrisIsh or HiroIshi might be a cute couple when you think about it."

"I'm glad you think so. I kind of have two crack pairings I really like, to be honest."

"And those would be?"

"TrisIsh and EdVis."

"EdVis? And that would be . . . ?"

"Just . . . just think about it for a minute."

"EdVis . . ." After a moment, her eyes widened in understanding. As she stared up at the boy with her cheeks burning red, she barely noticed that his current cool façade was just that—a façade. There were traces of a blush in his face as well. Oddly, it made her smile. Slowly, she half-circled around the other until she stood atop one of the large decorative rocks in the park. "Yes," she replied softly, "I think I like those pairings as well." Before Eduard had a moment to think, soft lips were pressed to his. As he found himself returning the kiss, he considered, _If only she could put me in checkmate, everything would be perfect. Then again . . . perfection is impossible._

* * *

"I can't hear!" hissed a certain blonde from not too far away. "Liz, stop moving!"

"Francis is crowding me, make him—" another girl whispered, only to be cut off by a third onlooker.

"Quiet, you two! It looks like one of them finally confessed," Francis sighed dreamily, a far-off expression on his face. "Ah, how great it is that she's finally found love, yes?"

"_Finally_," Bella sighed in exasperation. "Two weeks is long enough. Now when do we get our money for setting them up, Francis?"

"Soon enough. Wait until tomorrow."

"First thing in the morning, okay? I want it before V starts talking about her chess foreplay matches with that geek again."

"If you're jealous, we could always play a game of chess together."

"Negative, Ghost Rider."

"Hey! I've ridden a lot of things, but a ghost isn't one of them!"

"Guys," Elizabeta interrupted, "I think they heard us."

"You are an idiot, you know that?" Bella shot at the other blond.

"At least I—" The Frenchman was cut off by a blow to the head.

"Shut up, all three of you! You're more incompetent than Team Rocket!" Vistoire yelled from a distance, picking up another small stone in the palm of her hand. Turning to the Estonian, she asked sweetly, "I hear there's a cosplay competition at the FYE near here. You want to go there instead?"

"Did Han Solo shoot first?" the sophomore questioned in reply.

"Excellent," the small girl giggled. "Hey, I was thinking of writing some TrisIsh. Interested in making it a joint fic?"

"Of course. Nothing says love like writing fanfiction together."

"Except maybe cosplaying together. _When they see us hand in hand, they wish that they were geeks in love_, right?"

* * *

_**A/N: **__If someone explains to me how Eesti and Sey act when in character, I'll gladly rewrite this. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed~_


End file.
